The invention relates to a handling device for tires, having at least one gripping tool and an outrigger, wherein the outrigger by way of a first outrigger pivot point is fixed to a receptacle in such a manner that pivoting of the outrigger relative to the receptacle along a motion trajectory is supported, and that the outrigger has a second outrigger pivot point which couples the at least one gripping tool by way of a tool arm to the outrigger in such a manner that pivoting of the tool arm relative to the outrigger and/or to the receptacle along a motion trajectory is supported.
Manufacturing a tire, for example for vehicles such as automobiles or motorcycles, is an extremely complex process which is composed of a multiplicity of manufacturing and processing steps. The reason therefor is the complicated construction of a tire, which is composed of a significant number of different individual components. Moreover, this multiplicity of components have to be interconnected under the effect of pressure and temperature, i.e. by so-called vulcanization.
Not only the finished tire as the final product of the tire manufacturing process, but already the tire blank is a highly complex component that is composed of many semi-finished product elements. As a result of the multi-layered construction, the individual components have to firstly and prior to a vulcanization process to be joined together, that is to say that the tire components are singularized to the correct size and fed to a carcass drum in a correct manner in terms of location, position, and orientation, said carcass drum being located within a tire-building machine. The tire blank is manufactured and prepared for vulcanizing in this way.
Many of the tire components are available as web-shaped and/or arcuate semi-finished products: various rubber compounds and natural-rubber composite materials, woven textile fabrics or textile cord, respectively, woven steel-belt fabrics, and natural-rubber sheathed bead cores. To some extent, layer servers are used within a tire-building machine in order for these web-shaped and/or arcuate semi-finished products to be fed to the carcass drum.
As a result of the significant number of production steps, production sites are set up in large sheds and comprise machines, systems, and handling means which are suitable for the individual production steps. These production lines or production centers are expanded by upstream and downstream equipment for preparing tire components or for post-processing or packing the finished tires, respectively.
A post-treatment process after vulcanization that is often required can be performed by targeted cooling of the finished tire that contains residual heat and optionally by an impingement with internal pressure. Since the finished tire that contains residual heat is structurally unstable and highly sensitive, particularly high requirements are set for the handling devices for removing tires from the treatment space of the tire vulcanization machine and transporting and placing, respectively, said tires in the post-treatment device. The handling devices are therefore equipped with suitable gripping tools which can also grip and pick up the sensitive tires. Gripping tools of this configuration are complex and expensive.
Handling devices which because of the function thereof within the tire production process and in terms of the treatment space of the tire vulcanization machine are also referred to as loaders or unloaders, must move the tire or tire blank to be handled across distances in all spatial directions and optionally change the orientation of the tire.
Furthermore, movements and changes in the orientation have to be carried out as fast as possible in order for the handling and transportation times to be kept as low as possible and for the overall process time of tire production to be minimized.
Positioning accuracy parameters having minor location and/or orientation deviations can also be part of the requirement spectrum set for handling devices. Such accuracy parameters can be required, for example, when loading or placing, respectively, the tire blank into the tire mold, into the container, or into the treatment space. Precise positioning is also required when the finished tires that still contain residual heat for the purpose of post-treatment are placed into the post-cure inflator or into the post-cure device, for example in order for the finished tire by way of the tire bead thereof to be deposited in a positionally accurate manner onto the tire plate.
Handling devices are often formed by a cantilever that is fixed to a base. The cantilever at one end is connected to the base by way of an articulation and at the other end thereof typically has a gripping tool. Fixing the cantilever in unarticulated manner to the base supports pivoting of said cantilever relative to the base.
These constructions are disadvantageous in that the distances of the gripping tools that can be implemented are defined, established, and significantly restricted by the length of the cantilever.
A further problem of generic handling devices is the restriction in terms of motion kinematics. When degrees of freedom in the movement of the cantilever or outrigger that support the gripping tool are implemented by an articulation, the outrigger can only be pivoted about this fulcrum. As a consequence thereof it is only possible for the gripping tools to move along a circular arc.
On account of the restricted distances and the motion patterns of the handling devices or of the gripping tools, respectively, that are established by circular arcs, devices of this type in spatial terms must be placed very close to the tire vulcanization machine in order for the treatment space to be able to be reached by the gripping tools and for the tire blanks to be able to be placed therein or for the finished tires to be removed therefrom, respectively. As a result of this placing restriction, one handling device typically has to be assigned to one tire vulcanization machine.
Therefore, the handling range can usually not be extended to cover a second or a plurality of tire vulcanization machines. This restriction in terms of use is significantly disadvantageous in particular because of the complex and expensive construction of the gripping tools which also have to be suitable for very sensitive finished tires that contain residual heat when the latter are removed from the tire vulcanization machine.